In the spring of 2007, Jason Blalack asked his mentor, Wu Bo-Ping (吴伯平), what was the most important Chinese medical text to translate into English. After a few moments of thought, Dr. Wu presented Jason with a tattered paperback copy of the original edition of Qin Bo-Wei’sNew Guidelines for Treatment(治疗新律zhi liao xin lu,c. 1953), a manuscript that for all intents and purposes had been lost during the Cultural Revolution. That is the text that forms the framework of this exciting new book.

Qin Bo-Wei (秦伯未) (1901-1970) was among the most important physicians of the modern era. As a prominent clinician, educator, and scholar, he worked to integrate classical schools of thought and created one of the most coherent systems for understanding Chinese medicine during a critical time of intense turbulence in China’s history. Wu Bo-Ping was one of Dr. Qin’s students and is among the few who are still living today.

Translated and presented to a Western audience for the first time, Qin’s original work is enriched by Dr. Wu’s extensive commentary, which transforms it into a hands-on guide on how to effectively practice herbal medicine.

An excellent clinical manual, this book primarily teaches a method of thinking that serves as a foundation for a lifelong approach to herbal medicine. An understanding of how to use the core concepts presented here allows one to effectively treat the majority of diseases seen in the contemporary clinic.

The text itself is unique in its presentation and differs from other clinical manuals in a number of ways:

· Organized by treatment method. Teaches a way of emulating the thought underlying a prescription without being tied to its specified ingredients or original indications, thereby reflecting the thinking of Chinese medicine’s greatest clinicians. Ultimately, this approach opens up treatment possibilities that are often ignored in conventional textbooks.

· Small number of ingredients. Dr. Qin’s prescriptions contain a small number of precisely combined ingredients, administered in small doses.

· Explains how to use processed medicinals. The book provides detailed explanations about how to use processed medicinals (炮制páo zhě).

· Based on influential lineage. This text imparts a wealth of clinical knowledge rooted in the tradition of an influential Chinese medicine lineage.

"This book is a major step in the dissemination of Qin Bo-Wei’s ideas. Perhaps more im­portantly, it represents a highly refined vision of how Chinese medicine can be understood in the West. Here we are presented with much more than a list of signs and symptoms linked to a pattern, which in turn is linked to a fixed formula. Instead, this book illustrates the nuances inherent in every step of the diagnostic and treatment process.” – Charles Chace, author of A Qin Bowei Anthology

About the authors

Wu Bo-Ping graduated in the first class of the Beijing College of Chinese Medicine in 1962. He apprenticed for many years with Qin Bo-Wei, becoming one of his most prominent students. A generous and renowned instructor of Chinese medicine in China and abroad, he is best known as an accomplished clinician. He is now retired and lives in Hangzhou.

Jason Blalack is a graduate of the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego and maintains a full-time practice in Boulder, Colorado. He studied closely with Dr. Wu Bo-Ping in China over many years.